F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 MEDIA INFLUENCE MATRIX: SPAIN Funding Journalism Authors: Francisco Campos-Freire, Marta Rodríguez-Castro, Ana Isabel Rodríguez-Vázquez, Alejandro Gesto-Louro, Óscar Juanatey-Boga, Valentín Alejandro Martínez-Fernández Editor: Marius Dragomir Published by CEU's Center for Media, Data and Society (CMDS), Budapest, 2020 ABOUT THE AUTHORS About the Authors Francisco Campos-Freire is a full professor of Journalism at the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela. He has decades of managerial experience in both print media and broadcast companies. His research focuses on media enterprises and Public Service Media. Marta Rodríguez-Castro is a PhD candidate and pre-doctoral researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela. In her research, she focuses on the regulation of digital services offered by Public Service Media and the impact of global digital platforms on news media and communications. Ana Isabel Rodríguez-Vázquez is a professor at the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela. She has worked for over a decade in print media, television and digital media. Her research focuses on media audiences and innovation. Alejandro Gesto-Louro is a researcher at the Department of Communication Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela. In his research, he has focused on the funding of Public Service Media and the use of technological advances, such as blockhain, in media industries. Óscar Juanatey-Boga is a professor at the Department of Business studies of the University of A Coruña. He has published extensive research on the communication strategies, marketing and funding of media outlets, with a particular focus on the print press. Valentín Alejandro Martínez-Fernández is a journalist and professor at the Department of Business studies of the University of A Coruña. He has experience managing print media outlets such as El Ideal Gallego. His research focuses on the transformation of the print press industry. Marius Dragomir is the Director of the Center for Media, Data and Society. He previously worked for the Open Society Foundations (OSF) for over a decade. Since 2007, he has managed the research and policy portfolio of the Program on Independent Journalism (PIJ), formerly the Network Media Program (NMP), in London. He has also been one of the main editors for PIJ's flagship research and advocacy project, Mapping Digital Media, which covered 56 countries worldwide, and he was the main writer and editor of OSF’s Television Across Europe, a comparative study of broadcast policies in 20 European countries. Copy-editing, translation and research assistance: Norina Solomon Hungary, 1051 Budapest, Nador u. 9. Tel: +36 1 327 3000 / 2609 Cover photo: Palacio de la Moncloa Fax: +36 1 235 6168 Source: Wikimedia Commons E-mail: [email protected] ABOUT THE MEDIA INFLUENCE MATRIX About CMDS The Media Influence Matrix Project is run collaboratively by the Media & Power Research Consortium, which consists of local as well as regional and international organizations. The The Center for Media, Data and Society consortium members are academic institutions (universities (CMDS) is a research center for the study and research centers), NGOs, journalism networks and private of media, communication, and foundations. information policy and its impact on society and practice. Founded in 2004 as the Center for Media and Communication Studies, CMDS is part MEDIA INFLUENCE MATRIX of Central European University's (CEU) ADVISORY BOARD School of Public Policy and serves as a focal point for an international network of acclaimed scholars, research Special Advisor: Dean Starkman institutions and activists. Media Management and Economics: Philip M. Napoli Research and methodology: Amy Brouillette Research and advocacy: Susan Abbott, Minna Aslama Civil Society & Technology: Kate Coyer Policy: Francesca Fanucci CMDS ADVISORY BOARD Data: Attila Batorfy, Jessie Labov Clara-Luz Alvarez Floriana Fossato Ellen Hume CMDS TEAM Monroe Price Anya Schiffrin Director: Marius Dragomir Stefaan G. Verhulst Editorial consultant: Tom Popper Research: Eva Bognar, Roni Dorot, Dumitrita Holdis Design and outreach: Robert Nemeth Coordinator: Mihaela Groza The report was done with the participation of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain (USC). About the USC The University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) is a public institution for higher education with campuses in the cities of Santiago de Compostela and Lugo (Galicia, Spain). The USC has been a hub for cultural and scientific heritage since 1495. The Department of Communication Sciences, and the Research Group “Novos Medios” in particular, has been conducting research on the relation between technology and media, its structure, audiences and funding, as well as innovation in journalism and public service media. To diversify its research, the team of Novos Medios collaborates with colleagues from the University of A Coruña (UDC) particularly in studying the press business and conducting financial analysis. The team is part of the research project “New values, governance, funding and public media services for the Internet society: European and Spanish contrasts” (RTI2018-096065-B-I00). M E D I A I N F L U E N C E M A T R I X : S P A I N F U N D I N G J O U R N A L I S M FUNDING JOURNALISM S T SHIFTS IN JOURNALISM FUNDING 4 Popular News Media 6 N Consumption Trends 6 E Key players 10 T Funding Trends 27 Influential News Media 37 N Key Funders 38 O Non-Governmental Funders 38 Government Funding 43 C F O E L B A T 4 FUNDING JOURNALISM SHIFTS IN JOURNALISM FUNDING SHIFTS IN JOURNALISM FUNDING The Spanish news media industry is vibrant, regional newspapers and one national daily (ABC), with a wealth of players competing for funding Vocento is the largest press group in Spain. and eyeballs, but at the same time it is However, El País of Prisa remains the most extremely concentrated, especially in the radio popular newspaper in the country, followed by and television segment. Mediaset and two sport newspapers, Marca (Unidad Editorial) Atresmedia, the two main television groups in and AS (Prisa). Spain, command together nearly 56% of the television audience. The two channels they Financially, the Spanish media industry is a very own, Telecinco and Antena 3, the most popular concentrated sector. The government is the largest in the country, control nearly three quarters of spender in the media, with over €2bn pumped in the advertising market in Spain. media operations annually, including state subsidies given to the national public broadcaster Regional television has been struggling to RTVE and the network of regional public media maintain its audience in recent years, companies, indirect state contributions disguised particularly young viewers who are as taxes and advertising in the media bought with increasingly hard to reach. Regional television public money. The other two major players by channels, most of which are public service funding are Planeta & Bertelsmann and Mediaset media, have been hurt by the digital Italia, owners of the two most watched television switchover, the transition from the analog type operations in the country, with annual incomes of of transmission to the more efficient digital around €1bn. A total of nine media groups in broadcasting, which allowed more new Spain have annual incomes of more than €100m. channels to enter the market, boosting Many of these players survived the economic competition. At the same time, they were badly crisis and the disruption of business models hit by the economic crisis that forced many of triggered by the rise of the internet although they them to trim their expenditures. were all badly affected by them. Radio has lost a significant number of listeners On the other hand, the publishing industry in recent years, listenership declining from continues to grapple with major financial some 11.4m in 2013 to 11.02m in 2019. problems as circulations continue to dive and new Nevertheless, the generalist radio market has financial models such as subscriptions or digital remained relatively stable in terms of audience advertising do not offset the losses from print. preferences, the three main privately held Most of these publishers are working on radio chains (SER, COPE and Onda Cero) redefining their digital strategies to adapt to new dominating the audience ratings nationwide. media consumption habits and to the remarkable They are followed at a distance by the public decline in ad spending in daily newspapers. Both network RNE. The leading player on the established publishing groups and digital native Spanish radio market with more than four media are experimenting with new forms of million listeners a day is SER, a generalist radio monetization, particularly paywalls. Most of the broadcaster run by Prisa group. newly emerged online portals in Spain started with financing raised through crowdfunding. The print media industry has been historically Today, the most successful business models of the controlled by family owners. However, in Spanish digital news media are a combination of recent years, many of these families have been advertising revenues and memberships or losing control over their businesses, which are subscriptions. seeking increased capital as they grow. With 12 5 FUNDING JOURNALISM SHIFTS IN JOURNALISM FUNDING Who’s who in Spanish media The key influencers in the Spanish news media *including the funding of the regional public service broadcasters and RTVE, and the state advertising funding spend by the government in the media; **owned through the company Uniprex; ***Polanco family; ****co-owned by LibertadDigital and Unidad Editorial; *****Editorial Prensa Ibérica acquired Zeta in 2019. Source: CMDS 6 FUNDING JOURNALISM POPULAR NEWS MEDIA Popular News Media Consumption Trends Television remains a highly consumed medium in Spain with 234 minutes on average a day spent in front of television sets in 2018.